The Tales of Viper and Ace
by Celesti Rivers
Summary: With a war for blood purity raging, Audrey and her brother, Keegan, proudly stand alongside their Uncle Kingsley in the Order. Their dangerous missions, Audrey's narrow misses with her future soulmate, and Keegan's sultry secrets fill their tales with drama, intrigue, and heartache. 4) The Glass Snake: Audrey fights to survive her Death Eater aunt's curse. Kingsley visits Percy.
1. Saving Agent Knight

**A/N: Finishing up By Moonlight and Sunrises, my Percy/Audrey story, has got me nostalgic for some pre-relationship tales... so I've decided to start on this little collection. Audrey and her family will mostly be the centre of it, but you'll see lots of familiar faces throughout! Enjoy :)**

* * *

 _1\. Saving Agent Knight_

 _7 March 1998_

 _Order of the Phoenix Agents Viper and Ace are responsible for breaking into the Ministry to extract Dion Shacklebolt and a Order spy that goes by codename Knight. Of course, things are not always as they seem._

* * *

Audrey let out a heavy sigh as her eyes flitted between the decoded note and the mission protocol Kingsley had placed in front of her. The silence filling the room was ironically deafening, but she kept her head down and eyes focused on the parchment to avoid breaking it. She knew that the moment she locked eyes with Kingsley, this would be all too real. For now, it was simply words on parchment. For now, Audrey could pretend that there was a catch.

 _Dion declared undesirable, execution date undetermined but soon - Knight, compromised_

Compromised. She hated that word in that particular moment.

"Are you ready to discuss?" Kingsley's deep voice broke Audrey out of her trance and her head snapped up to meet his gaze.

Uncle Kingsley was an interesting intersection between fun-loving relative and stern father figure. Although he carried himself with a similar confidence and authority that Audrey's father, Kingsley's much older brother, displayed, he had a much warmer personality. It also probably had something to do with the fact that he was only ten years older than Audrey's brother, Keegan.

"So - so Gramps?" Keegan started, his voice a little shaky. While Audrey had a very close relationship with their grandmother, Lucinda, Keegan and Dion were like two peas in a pod. Aside from their father, there was no one that Keegan admired quite as much.

"I don't trust anyone else with this mission as much as I trust the two of you," Kingsley said. "Aside from... _Knight_ , we are the only three people that know about this."

"All right, so, um, _compromised_ ," Audrey started nervously, "What does that mean?"

"It means that if we pull Dion out of the Ministry, Knight will be discovered," Kingsley explained. "Dumbledore's plan for that was, um, a vial of deadly nightshade."

" _What?_ " Audrey exclaimed.

"Trust me, I'm not a fan either, so I'm modifying the mission protocol," Kingsley continued, giving Audrey a pointed look that clearly was a command to keep herself together. "You will also be rescuing Knight. He will be disguised like the two of you, as Death Eaters, while Dion will appear to be a prisoner."

Kingsley waved his wand and the words on the parchment detailing the mission protocol began to rearrange themselves, now outlining a different plan.

"You will take one of the London entrances into the Ministry disguised as Death Eaters," Kingsley began to explain, "then, you'll locate Knight's office and rendez-vous there. He will have Dion in his custody for 'further questioning.' As of now, it seems he's still blending in well. From there, you will disguise Knight as a Death Eater. Keegan, you will be responsible for taking Dion to the Atrium under the premise of a hand-off to other Death Eaters. Audrey, you'll go with Knight on a separate, longer route and meet them there."

"Is splitting up such a good idea?" Keegan questioned.

"For our purposes, yes. It will weaken you, but it will also minimize suspicion - and if Knight is really compromised, that is our first priority," Kingsley explained. "In the Atrium, you will find a portkey in the shape of a wall sconce on the side of Floo number twenty-one. It will be enchanted to activate at Audrey's touch and will transport the graspers within two minutes of her touching it. Clear?"

"Crystal," Audrey replied. "What tools are we working with?"

A small smile appeared on Kingsley's face at that question. Ever the Ravenclaw, he loved his gadgets and inventions. Pulling a rucksack up from under the table, he gently placed it in front of Audrey and Keegan, then reached in and pulled out two small radios.

"These are muggle hand radios, or walkie talkies," Kingsley said. "They've been enchanted to only work in your hands and for your ears. Anyone other than you two or Knight will hear random gibberish. I'll bewitch them to be smaller and fit on the inside of your sleeves. Next," Kingsley paused as he pulled out two Death Eater masks, "these have been enchanted so that only the wearer can move them on or off. Of course, you'll also be equipped with strong Disguising Charms as a precaution."

"Blimey, Kingsley, you've outdone yourself yet again," Keegan admired. "So then from the portkey in the Ministry, where do we go?"

"That portkey will take you to the safehouse I've chosen for Dion and Knight. From there, you two will take another portkey back to headquarters," Kingsley answered.

"Sounds like a solid plan," Audrey said, although she was mostly trying to convince herself.

"Take the time to familiarize yourself once more with Knight's files. As far as he knows, only Dion is getting rescued, so you may have to deal with some resistance," Kingsley cautioned.

"Wait, why wouldn't you tell him we're rescuing him?" Audrey asked. She couldn't wrap her head around that logic.

Kingsley sighed sadly. "We all know who I'm talking about," he started. "Percy is smart and brave, but he's also proud. I don't want him to have the opportunity to try and be a hero because I have a horrible feeling it wouldn't end well for him. I made a promise to Molly. I told her I would protect her boys - she may not have known that that promise included Percy, but it did for me."

Audrey nodded slowly, taking in all of the information before her. It seemed like a good plan. Simple, secure, and clean. However, she knew it wouldn't be easy to pull off. She and Keegan would have to bring their A-game and, hopefully, Percy would too. As good of a plan as it was, one small hiccup was all it would take to tip someone off. They were quite literally going to be in the eye of the hurricane.

"Like stealing candy from a baby," Keegan said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Kingsley forced a smile as he looked between Audrey and Keegan. "If anyone can do this, it's the two of you. I expect you here and ready to go by six in the morning. Sleep well."

* * *

 _8 March 1998_

* * *

Audrey tightened the strap holding the throwing knives to her thigh for the fifth time in the last three minutes. She knew that because she had been uncontrollably glancing at the dusty digital clock in the Order headquarters for the last hour.

 _05:58_

She shook her head at her lack of self-control and looked in the mirror once again. Her dark brown hair was held back in a tight and sleek French braid. She was sporting an Auror training outfit: form-fitting black pants with several straps to hold her wand and hand weapons, a black short-sleeve t-shirt, and black combat boots laced as tightly as she could bear. With a nervous gulp, Audrey took the black hooded robes in her hands and slowl slipped them on. She felt the Death Eater mask attached to the hood lightly rest on her back.

 _05:59_

Audrey rolled her eyes at herself. She had to stop looking at that bloody clock. Thankfully, Keegan loudly barged in at that moment. The loud sound snapped Audrey out of her own pessimistic thoughts. He looked fully prepared in a similar outfit, probably back from his days of Obliviator training. Unlike Audrey, however, he forcefully grabbed his Death Eater robes and quickly pulled them on, a grim look on his face. He looked as if he couldn't wait for this day to be over.

 _06:00_

Right on time, Kingsley entered the room, a solemn look on his face. He was holding a flowery pink scarf, which he rested on the table in the room before approaching Audrey and Keegan.

"Hand radios are on the inside of your sleeves already," he started, wasting no time whatsoever, "and the scarf is your portkey to the London entrance. Keegan, let's keep the obliviating and theatrics to a minimum. Audrey, don't make a mess, if you can help it."

"No promises," Audrey and Keegan chorused, then quickly turned to give each other annoyed looks. It was truly irritating how similar they could be sometimes.

"Without further ado," Kingsley trailed off as he raised his wand. With a few swishes, he stood back and said, "you are now disguised."

Audrey and Keegan looked in the mirror. Gold bands that looked painted on were streaked across their eyes like a mask. Their features and skin colour flickered the longer they stared. Seeing Audrey's dark, umber skin flicker into a shade of pale white was probably the most amusing thing she had seen in months.

"As soon as you're both holding on to the portkey, you'll be off," Kingsley said as he gestured towards the table.

Audrey and Keegan turned to look at each other. "Let's get Gramps out of there," Audrey said confidently.

With solemn looks on their faces, the two Shacklebolt siblings stepped forward and grabbed the portkey before them.

* * *

"I've been instructed to bring Shacklebolt in for further questioning," Percy stated in a demanding tone.

"By who?" the Death Eater charged with guarding Dion questioned.

"Who do you bloody think?" Percy bit back sourly.

The Death Eater let out a displeased grunt but nonetheless turned around to unlock the door leading to Dion Shacklebolt's personal prison. It was a small room that was bordering on the size of a broom closet with nothing in it to hide the cold, unwelcoming stone floors. When the door swung open and the fluorescent lights from the hallway streamed in, Dion flinched and shielded his eyes. Percy felt his stomach drop at the sight of a once powerful, authoritative man that stood tall amongst any crowd. Now, the Shacklebolt patriarch was hunched in a corner and covered in blood, scars, and bruises.

The Death Eater strode forward and forcefully pulled Dion up from the floor, then swished his wand to procure a magical pair of handcuffs on his wrists. He then pushed the older man towards Percy.

"Have him, I've gotten bored anyways," the Death Eater said with a shrug.

Taking a calming deep breath and burying his anger down, Percy grabbed Dion's arm without a word and turned to leave the bleak room. After a few minutes of walking, Dion suddenly spoke up.

"Where do they want me now?" he asked bitterly, his voice quiet.

"It's as much of a mystery to me," Percy answered honestly.

In his last four years as a spy, Percy had found that the easiest way to lie and blend in was actually by telling the truth. A carefully chosen truth, that is. Something vague and simple. It was a foolproof way to beat an accidental drugging of Veritaserum, and the plainer you sounded, the less people cared about you. For example, his reply of "some light reading" every time someone asked him what he would do after work earned him the label of a "boring arse." Rude as it was, it also kept people from snooping into what exactly he was reading.

Once they reached his office, Percy quickly entered and helped Dion sit down. The older man gave him a strange look in response to his kindness, and Percy had to fight the urge to not heal the man's wounds. The more hurt he looked, the more it would help the mission.

"So ask away, boy," Dion muttered. Even in his state, he fought to keep his confidence high.

"All in good time," Percy replied simply.

* * *

Audrey knew that getting to Percy's office would be the easy part, but she definitely appreciated the confidence boost.

Death Eater masks on, Audrey and Keegan took confident strides as they walked through Voldemort's Ministry. It was bleak and dark compared to how she remembered the place, and everyone that walked around was an unfortunately familiar face. People she had gone to school with, people her parents had welcomed into their home. She felt anger and disgust course through her every time she recognized someone, but she knew that this wasn't the time for making a scene.

After a long walk and a tense elevator ride, the two Order members found themselves face-to-face with a black door and a gold plaque: _Percy Weasley, Assistant to the Minister of Magic_. With a deep breath, Audrey reached for the doorknob, turned it, and quickly moved into the office, Keegan closely following behind her.

She instantly found herself mere inches from Percy's wand, his expression stony and cold. That quickly faltered, however, as Keegan waved his hands and a breeze swept through the room. With the Silencing Charms in place, Audrey and Keegan both pulled of their Death Eater masks to reveal their disguised faces. As soon as Percy caught sight of the gold band on their faces, he visibly relaxed and lowered his wand.

"Royal sent us," Audrey said simply.

"You're getting out of here, Dion," Keegan added as he looked over at his grandfather.

In that moment, Dion slowly stood up and his jaw dropped as his eyes flitted back and forth between his grandchildren. Audrey knew in that moment that he had recognized their voices.

"I... I can't believe..." Dion started. He straightened up a bit, a smile gracing his battered face. "My boy sent his finest."

Audrey smirked. "That he did," she replied. "All right, let's get moving."

Without a moment's hesitation, Keegan pulled his hood back down and lifted his left sleeve near his face. "Ace to Royal," Keegan spoke into the radio, "the target has been retrieved and we're in position. Over."

"Copy that," Kingsley's staticy voice replied, "you're a go, Ace. Over."

Audrey stepped forward and tightly hugged her brother before stepping back again and giving him a nod. Wordlessly, Keegan grabbed hold of Dion's arm and the two of them left the office without a word. Silence filled the tidy room for few seconds as their footsteps died down.

"So, the vial," Percy said, breaking the silence.

Audrey turned around to face Percy with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face. "You're a bloody drama queen," she finally said.

"Wh - what?" Percy stuttered.

With a sigh, Audrey began to rummage around the purse hidden under her robes. When she pulled out Percy's disguise, she said, "Here," then paused to throw the robes at Percy. As he fumbled to catch them, she continued, "put these on."

Percy held up the Death Eater mask and stared at it in confusion, then turned to Audrey. "This wasn't Dumbledore's plan," he stated plainly.

"No, this is Kingsley's plan," Audrey replied in agreement. "Hop to, love."

"I'm not abandoning my post," Percy declared adamantly as he threw the robes on his desks.

"Oh bloody hell," Audrey grumbled with a roll of her eyes. It seemed his stubbornness hadn't changed since he had graduated from Hogwarts. "Listen mate: you've spent the last four years sacrificing your family and risking your life for the Order. Now, when the Order gets a chance to return the favour, you wanna be a hero?"

"Well I - "

"Rhetorical question," Audrey intervened with a stern voice. "Shut up and put the damn disguise on, or I'll _make_ you put it on."

Percy huffed simply. "Fine," he replied in a dissatisfied tone, grabbing the robes once again and putting them on while mumbling something about getting bossed around.

"Viper to Royal, Knight is being disguised as we speak and we are ready for transport, over," Audrey spoke into her radio.

"Blimey, that fast? I'm impressed," Kingsley replied. Percy rolled his eyes as Audrey held back a laugh. "Keep me posted. Over."

"Well, let's break out of the Ministry then," Percy said as he flipped up his Death Eater hood.

Audrey smirked at him and raised her hand in a salute, replying with a simple, "Aye aye, captain," before lifting her hood up as well.

Percy froze for a moment as he processed the woman's action. Something about the mysterious Order member seemed eerily familiar in that moment; however, as he heard her tune into the radio once more, Percy quickly snapped out of his thoughts and his attention fixated on the mission at hand.

"Viper to Royal, I am on the move with Knight. Over," she said.

"Copy that. Move quickly, Viper. Over," Kingsley replied.

Audrey turned back to give Percy a nod before swiftly pushing the door open. Percy quickly fell into step with her and the pair silently made their way through the Ministry's halls.

"We're heading for the atrium," Audrey explained. "This is the home stretch."

"I'll make sure not to say anything ironic then," Percy replied, trying to lighten his own mood.

"If you could help it, Weasley, I'd be impressed," Audrey shot back.

Percy's sarcastic reply ready to be fired back at the mystery woman when the pair came face to face with another Death Eater standing in the middle of the hall. He removed his hood and Percy quickly recognized the man as one of the prisoner guards. That being said, it was hardly fair to call innocent muggle-borns prisoners.

"Where're the two of you headed?" he asked in a heavy Scottish accent, his brow furrowed as he glanced between the two disguised Order members. Percy felt as if his throat was blocked and his whole body froze. Of all bloody moments to freeze up.

"Oh, Gibbon, you know how it is," Audrey spoke up in a friendly tone, for one in her life thanking her mother for dragging her to all of those pureblood parties, "aren't we all dying for a little _privacy_ on our coffee breaks?" she continued as she hooked her arm with Percy's.

Gibbon was silent for a mere second, then chuckled knowingly. "All right, off with ya lovebirds," he said with a wink.

Audrey laughed that polite lady laugh her mum always showed off before taking off once again, Percy stumbling a bit at first. As they rounded the corner, he shook his head. "I can't believe that worked," he said in disbelief, a smile on his face.

"It didn't," Audrey replied grimly. "Three, two, one - "

Just as Audrey finished counting down, she quickly turned around and threw a strong Stunning Charm. It landed square on Gibbon's chest and sent him flying down the hall. Percy stared in awe at the Order member, racking his brain to figure out when the hell she had even drawn her wand. Before he could get a chance to express his amazement, however, the woman turned to him and simply said, "Now, we run."

Audrey wasted no time to break into a sprint, looking back only briefly to make sure Percy was following closely behind her. As she looked back, she noticed another two Death Eaters turning the corner and cursed under her breath. Somehow, they had figured it out.

"Viper to Ace, Viper to Royal, we are in hot pursuit right now, over," Audrey quickly said into her radio.

"Royal to Viper, get out of there _now_ ," Kingsley replied. "Ace is not responding. Over."

"Damn it," Audrey muttered. Percy was by her side now, so she quickly glanced over her shoulder once again to assess their situation. Her eyes widened as she noticed the two Death Eaters begin to draw their wands. "Heads up!" she shouted.

Percy took a dive to the floor just in the nick of time, a bright purple curse flying over his head. At the same time, Audrey slid down and threw a hex behind her, hitting her target just as his curse narrowly missed her face. As she slowed to a stop, she quickly scrambled up and swiftly slipped her wand back in its sheath just as the second Death Eater threw an _expelliarmus_ her way. It hit her and simply dissipated. The unhooded Death Eater frowned when her wand didn't go flying up.

As Audrey recognized him, a bitter smirk graced her features.

"Not many people know this," she started as her hand gripped the handle of a throwing knife, "but you need to be holding a weapon for that Charm to work."

Then, before the Death Eater could react, Audrey threw her knife. It perfectly embedded itself in the man's thigh and she smiled proudly as he fell to his knees and let out a groan of pain. "Fuck you, Pucey," she said bitterly.

"What the hell?" Percy hissed, throwing his arms up. "Who does that?"

Audrey pointed at him and simply said, "Drama queen," before grabbing his hand and pulling him after her as she continued to run down the hallway.

Needless to say, this was probably the opposite of what Kingsley had meant when he had said 'don't make a mess,' but there was no going back now. Besides, Audrey highly doubted she would ever again have the opportunity to cause that poor excuse of a human some pain.

Audrey stumbled to a stop as the hallway split off into two opposite directions. She quickly noticed that they were now surrounded, Death Eaters heading down both hallways, so she quickly swung Percy around so they were back-to-back. Once again, Percy found himself on the verge of snapping at the disguised woman and just so happened to, _once again_ , get cut off by Death Eaters rapidly approaching him. Instinctively, Percy wielded his wand and shot out a powerful _stupefy_.

"Lucky you're a lefty, eh?" the woman said as she began to duel the Death Eaters approaching her.

"Luck's one word for it," Percy grumbled. "Why the bloody hell are we still holding hands?"

In that moment, Audrey yanked him to the side just as a Killing Curse whizzed past her and instead hit a Death Eater on the other end of the hall. "That's why," Audrey said smugly, before letting go of his hand and going back to duelling the onslaught of Death Eaters.

Percy somehow found himself both irritated and intrigued with the mystery woman. Part of him felt like he knew exactly who she was, but with the Disguising Charm throwing him for a loop every time he had looked at her face back in the office and their present situation, he just couldn't place her voice. He definitely knew her and the other Order member from somewhere, though. He supposed this would be an issue for _after_ escaping from the Ministry.

Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw the woman's wand go flying in the air and heard her curse. Then, almost instantly, he felt her stumble back. Looking back, Percy saw none other than Thorfinn Rowle choking the woman just enough to have her gasping for air but not passing out. In his moment of distraction, Percy quickly found himself disarmed as well and now facing several wands.

"I can't believe she was right," Thorfinn said. "You do fight rather messy."

"No," Audrey breathed out. Then, with one quick movement, she reached her arms forward to trap Thorfinn's head between her forearms before kicking her knee forward and landing three rather audible blows to his groin. He let go of her neck as he stumbled back in pain and Audrey wasted no time to swing her leg around to kick him in the face. Another man charged her, but she easily side-stepped his punch and shouldered all of her weight into his stomach, causing him to fall over. She quickly moved to hold him down with her knee and throw some rather painful punches at his face, but after a couple of hits she was yanked backwards, her arms restrained behind her back. Everyone turned their gazes to Thorfinn, who was now standing up and pointing his wand at Audrey.

" _IMBECILES_ , you all have _fucking wands_!" he bellowed angrily. "Use them for Merlin's sake! Pucey, you bloody idiot, she got you with a _knife_!"

"Must be the inbreeding dumbing them down," Audrey bit back.

"Oh, she's going to _love_ torturing you," Thorfinn threatened bitterly. His left eye was turning purple and becoming considerably swollen, his nose bleeding violently, but even through all of that he was still smirking as if he had won. "Take them to the atrium."

* * *

"We need to be as inconspicuous as possible," Keegan whispered to his grandfather as they made their way through the halls of the Ministry.

"Of course," Dion replied. "Kingsley was right to trust the two of you."

"I sure hope so," Keegan muttered as they took a turn.

Things were going smoothly for now. Nothing too out of the ordinary had happened, except for the fact that the halls were suspiciously... empty. There was the odd person milling around, but almost _no_ Death Eaters. Things may have been going well, but Keegan's gut instinct was telling him that there was much more brewing beneath the surface.

And Merlin, he hated it when he was right.

As they took another turn, they encountered a masked Death Eater standing in the middle of the hallway. Keegan looked the other way down the hallway and saw another Death Eater. Back down the way they had just walked stood yet another Death Eater. This was more like the kind of mission Keegan had envisioned.

"Morning, boys," Keegan greeted with a nod.

One of the Death Eaters removed his mask and Keegan had to bite back a scoff when he recognized none other than Marcus Flint. Of course, the bloody idiot would be a Death Eater. There was a reason he had failed his seventh year, after all. "Where d'ya think you're takin' that prisoner?" Marcus asked in a challenging tone.

"I've received orders to bring him in for further... interrogation," Keegan replied suggestively. Best to leave the idiots to their own imaginations.

The Death Eater standing directly behind him now removed his mask with a scoff. Keegan frowned slightly as he, yet again, recognized the person behind the mask: Alexander Vaisey, one of his former Quidditch teammates. "Sounds fake," he said gruffly.

"I don't expect you boys to understand the work of men," Keegan replied smugly. "Now, let me pass with the prisoner."

"You're gonna have to take us down to do that," the third Death Eater said as he removed his mask. Yet again, someone Keegan recognized from school: Terrence Higgs. Something was definitely not right, but it seemed that Keegan had a much bigger problem on his hands anyways.

"Three against one - I like my odds," Keegan said confidently.

As the two Death Eaters to his left and right quickly drew their wands and threw curses his way, Keegan just narrowly side-stepped the spells as he pushed Dion out of the way. As he had planned, the curses hit the Death Eaters and they both fell back in agony. Keegan turned to the third Death Eater, Terrence, with a chuckle.

"And then there were two," he said mockingly.

Before Terrence even had a chance to draw his wand, Keegan quickly waved his hands and sent an _obliviate_ his way. A trance-like sleep took over and Terrence fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"That was almost too easy," he muttered as he once again grabbed Dion's arm.

"Seems like you were _almost_ too smart, _boy_."

Keegan almost instantly recognized the voice behind him and cursed under his breath as he felt a wand jab in his back. Slowly, the man made his way around to face Keegan as more Death Eaters surrounded him and his grandfather. Just what he needed: his secret girlfriend's crazed Death Eater father.

"Archibald," Keegan greeted coldly, "you don't look a day over a hundred."

"You know, I almost wish she hadn't asked for you alive," Archibald replied with a dark chuckle. "I would have enjoyed watching the life fade from your eyes. Pull his stupid mask off."

Keegan felt a Death Eater yank at his hood, but, just as promised, the mask didn't budge. He started to laugh as Archibald frowned in confusion. "You're right, mate - it is a stupid mask," he said jokingly.

"Royal to Ace, requesting status update, over," Kingsley's staticy voice chimed in. In that moment, Keegan was both grateful for the cleverly enchanted radios and irritated with his uncle's timing.

"Atrium. _Now_."

* * *

"For what it's worth, you're absolutely terrifying and I'm glad we're fighting on the same side," Percy whispered to the woman from the Order as they were forcefully pushed through the halls of the Ministry by Death Eaters.

Audrey laughed lightly. "For what it's worth, you're more resourceful than I thought," she whispered back.

"Just the tip of the iceberg," Percy replied, smirking lightly.

"Shut your mouths," Thorfinn growled as they entered the atrium.

The large, dome-like hall had been emptied of all other traffic and people, with the exception of six people standing between the fountain and the Floos. As they got closer, Audrey felt her breath hitch as she recognized Keegan being held back by Archibald Greengrass, Dion and Kingsley's parents-in-law in shackles on their knees, and... her Aunt Kelsey, a proud smile on their face as they approached. Younger sister to Kristopher Shacklebolt, Audrey's father, and older sister to Kingsley Shacklebolt. The jaded middle child that had chosen a dark path.

Audrey couldn't believe that of all of the people to order Dion's execution, it would be his own daughter. It made her sick to her stomach to watch Kelsey be so dismissive of her own family. Audrey was quickly realizing that this was simply Kelsey's twisted way of hurting Kingsley.

"Thorfinn, Adrian - stay. Everyone else, leave," Kelsey commanded. As soon as Thorfinn was standing behind Audrey with a hand firmly gripping her shoulder and Adrian Pucey behind Percy doing the same, all of the other Death Eaters quickly exited the Atrium. "Can't have just _anyone_ involved," Kelsey added with a shrug.

Things had gone south far too quickly. This was not the mission they had planned. Yet, here they stood, surrounded by Death Eaters in the grand atrium of the Ministry of Magic, just mere feet away from the Floos - so close, yet so far. Thankfully, although it seemed perfectly clear that Kelsey knew exactly who the Order had sent, she did not know who the third Order member was. While Percy was compromised, there was no point in having him killed on sight. That was, however, the only stroke of luck that they would be getting, it seemed.

"You _really_ thought I wouldn't figure it out?" Kelsey asked tauntingly. "The cocky one," she added, turning to Keegan, "and the reckless one," she continued as she turned to face Audrey. "You can pose as Death Eaters all you want, but I'd be able to pick you out in a crowd the size of London. Dion was just a lure. I _knew_ Kingsley would send someone after him, and I had a sneaking suspicion it would be you two, but I had to be _sure_. You, my dear, didn't hesitate to get messy even when you had clearly lost," Kelsey explained as she glanced at Audrey, "and you - well, I knew you couldn't pass up an opportunity to fight an unweighted duel against what you considered your inferiors," she continued as she glanced at Keegan.

Her taunting was met with silence. There was no point in entertaining Kelsey. The longer they resisted the more she would try to push their buttons - and that would be precious stalling time that they could use to think up a new plan. Audrey's eyes shifted to her grandfather, the Shacklebolt patriarch, his knees held to the ground by some type of dark magic, now covered in more blood and bruises. Although he couldn't see past her mask, he stilled smiled lightly just as Audrey looked his way. She already knew that even in the best case scenario, there was no way they would get him out alive - and he was half the mission. Everything would have been perfect if Kelsey hadn't been around - even Percy still wasn't aware of which two Order members had been sent to extract him and Dion.

Percy's confusion only grew as Kelsey Rowle kept talking. He had heard many Death Eaters talk about her viciousness and cruelness, but Percy had always easily forgotten that she was Kingsley's sister. The two of them may as well have been like night and day. But how were the two Order members that had been sent to save him involved?

"I'll give you credit for effort, but I'd like to see how quickly that determination falls when you're at the other end of the Cruciatus Curse," Kelsey threatened as she played with her wand.

In that moment, Percy had an idea.

 _I've got a distraction I can use._

The voice had seemingly come out of nowhere, but Audrey quickly recognized the familiar echo of Legilimency, and she all too easily recognized Percy's voice.

 _Use it as a chance to break free and fight - might also wanna try to get your wands back_ , Percy's voice echoed.

Audrey nodded once, very lightly, and that was all the signal Percy needed. In one sudden movement, he stomped on the feet of the Death Eater holding him, pulled something out of his pocket, and threw it right into the middle of the crowd...

 _Wildfire whiz-bangs, unbelievable_ , Audrey thought to herself in amusement. Her moment of mirth didn't last long, though, as it took her less than a second to get into fighting mode. As the magical fireworks went off and the Death Eaters jumped back, Audrey easily broke free of Thorfinn's grip and knocked him out with a well-placed punch, then quickly retrieved her wand and sent a Stunning Charm straight at Pucey's head. Percy quickly retrieved his wand as well, then Audrey grabbed his arm and started leading him towards the hidden portkey.

More Death Eaters started apparating into the atrium, and Audrey and Percy found themselves backing up towards the portkey as they faced another three Death Eaters. Audrey soon noticed Keegan by their side as well. They were being cornered, but at least it was the right corner.

As Percy fought to keep up his strong Protection Charms, he glanced towards the mysterious Order woman to see how she was holding up. That was the moment that he locked eyes with Kelsey, her wand aimed right at the woman by his side. Just outside the edge of his Protection Charms.

Without a second thought, Percy reached his arm out and pushed the woman back just as Kelsey threw a nasty curse towards the woman. Stumbling back, the curse missed the woman's body and instead caught her leg. In the next second, she let out a scream of agony and fell as her leg buckled beneath her.

"Get her up!" Keegan ordered as soon as he saw his sister fall to the ground. "I'll hold the Protection Charms - get to the portkey, _now_."

Percy quickly lowered his wand and rushed towards the masked woman. He lifted her arm and placed it over his shoulders, then walked her toward the wall sconce portkey as quickly as he could. He noticed the man backing up closer and closer to them, just barely holding back the growing throng of Death Eaters. Breathlessly, the woman tightly grasped the sconce, then reached for Percy's hand and forcefully swung him around to make him do the same.

"Two minutes!" Audrey shouted towards Keegan, holding back yet another scream of agony.

Audrey drew her wand once again, trying her best to be of some help and throw as many hexes and curses as she could, but her injury was making her tired and disoriented. She noticed Keegan finally reach them and grasp the portkey as well, and Percy joining in on keeping up the Protection Charms.

"Viper to Royal, we're in position with Knight, over," Audrey managed to say into the enchanted hand radio, her voice clearly strained.

"Your leg..." Percy noted with a worried tone. The blood was now dripping from her robes.

"Yeah, I got this saving your bloody arse, so you better keep your hand on that portkey," she bit back, then let out a painful groan.

Percy was about to voice a retort when the portkey was activated and the three of them were transported out of the war zone that was developing before them.

* * *

As soon as the portkey landed, the three Order members wasted no time removing their Death Eater disguises. The man and the woman from the Order still had Disguising Charms covering their faces, and Percy realized then that he still had no clue who he had to thank for saving his life.

The woman dropped to the floor, letting out a small groan of pain and a cough as she stretched out her leg. The gash on her leg was long, stretching from her ankle all the way to the middle of her thigh and filled with what seemed to be shards of glass. Percy desperately looked around for something to help her, but he quickly realized where they were: one of the Order safehouses. A small house on the Welsh coast.

The man quickly turned to Percy. "This is your safehouse now. We have a portkey out of here, but Kingsley will be periodically checking in on you," he said quickly. "Place is equipped with Apparition Wards, Protection Charms - the whole shebang."

"Yes, all right - what about her? She needs help," Percy replied, nodding towards the woman. He moved closer and knelt down to get a better look at the wound.

"I'll take care of that," the man replied, grabbing a lamp from one of the tables in the small house. He crouched down next to the woman and got her to grab hold of it. "This is our portkey - it'll activate in a minute. Trust me when I say that the best thing you can do now for the Order is lay low."

"Don't be a hero, Knight," the woman managed to get out with a smirk.

Before Percy could start to argue, the portkey was activated and the two Order members had disappeared. He stared blankly at the spot in which they had just been for a few seconds, his gaze fixed on the small pool of blood that was left behind. Then, he stood up, wordlessly cleaned up the blood with a swish of his wand, and looked around the room. If the Order wanted lay low, he would do just that.

That is, until the time would come for him to fight.

* * *

 **Wooo, this was exciting to write! I hope you guys enjoyed it and are gonna stay tuned for the next one. For now, here's a little sneak peak...**

 _Audrey subtly squirmed under the uncomfortable gown as she glanced around the ballroom full of masked people. Masked purebloods, that is. The lot of them were unbelievable. They were in the middle of fighting a war, but of course there was still time for parties and pleasantries. Still, she supposed she couldn't complain. It was, after all, the perfect cover for a good, old-fashioned, Order of the Phoenix-style kidnapping._

 _Glancing around the room, Audrey's eyes easily found her brother in the crowd. She furrowed her brow slightly when she noticed him leaning forward a bit as he whispered in the ear of a masked woman. She looked up at him all of a sudden and shook her head, but Keegan simply placed a hand on her arm and said something to her. Then, without another word, she politely excused herself and exited the ballroom._

 _Keegan's eyes met Audrey's soon after that, but she was racking her mind for a name. Long and wavy brown hair, pale skin that looked as if it had never seen sunlight, short stature..._

 _Of course. How could she have missed this? Daphne Greengrass._


	2. A Royal Kidnapping

_2\. A Royal Kidnapping_

 _30 December 1997_

 _Keegan makes an emotionally-driven decision that allows Audrey to discover that her older brother has been harbouring a secret. While their risque mission goes well, the young Shacklebolt has a few stern words for her brother about keeping secrets._

* * *

The cold winter wind made Audrey shiver as Keegan passed the small vial to her. She quickly placed a couple drops of the Night Vision Potion in her eyes and pocketed the empty vial. Blinking rapidly, Audrey looked around the dark landscape.

"Blimey, is this how cats feel?" she wondered aloud.

"Is cat really the animal you're going with here?" Keegan asked with a skeptical look.

Audrey simply shrugged and linked her arm with her brother's. "Come on, let's get to work," she said with a sigh.

Tonight's mission would be a risky one, and it was a little wild as far as Order missions went. Her and Keegan had been tasked with kidnapping Axel Greengrass, a pureblood and known Death Eater that worked alongside his older brother, Archibald, in the Ministry. After months of fighting, Kingsley had finally given in and agreed that it was about time they evened the playing field a little. If Death Eaters were taking halfbloods and muggle-borns hostage, then the Order could at least try playing their game. As the famous muggle saying went: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

As Audrey and Keegan approached the large estate, the gates magically opened before them and they continued walking on the gravel path until they reached the towering front doors of the mansion. They similarly swung open as Audrey and Keegan approached. Pausing for a moment, the two siblings looked at each other before slipping on their intricate masquerade masks and stepping inside.

The mansion was beautifully decorated, with dimly lit lanterns moving around the room and a ceiling enchanted to show off the night sky, just like at Hogwarts. Garland and tinsel lined the walls and a bewitched mistletoe zoomed around the room in search for victims. In this crowd, Audrey's elegant royal blue and gold hoop dress and Keegan's fancy dress robes seemed normal, if not actually a bit dull. Audrey adjusted her gold eye mask as she glanced around the room, then turned to giver her brother a nod before they split off into separate directions.

Audrey subtly squirmed under the uncomfortable gown as she walked and glanced around the ballroom full of masked people. Masked purebloods, that is. The lot of them were unbelievable. They were in the middle of fighting a war, but of course there was still time for parties and pleasantries. Still, she supposed she couldn't complain. It was, after all, the perfect cover for a good, old-fashioned, Order of the Phoenix-style kidnapping.

Glancing around the room, Audrey's eyes easily found her brother in the crowd. She furrowed her brow slightly when she noticed him leaning forward a bit as he whispered in the ear of a masked woman. She looked up at him all of a sudden and shook her head, but Keegan simply placed a hand on her arm and said something to her. Then, without another word, she politely excused herself and exited the ballroom.

Keegan's eyes met Audrey's soon after that, but she was too busy racking her mind for a name to even bother sending her older brother a questioning glare. Audrey had seen that woman before. Long and wavy brown hair, pale skin that looked as if it had never seen sunlight, short stature...

Of course. How could she have missed this? Daphne Greengrass. But why would Keegan warn her? Unless...

With an irritated sigh, Audrey looked away from her brother and hoped to Merlin he hadn't just messed everything up. If they made it out alive, she would make sure to give him hell for being so reckless.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Audrey turned her head to see a masked man offering his hand. "Time for a dance?" he asked with a smirk.

"I suppose so," Audrey replied simply. They would have to try to blend in until Axel decided to give his big speech.

The nice thing about being from a rather big pureblood family was that Audrey and Keegan were still very much in the loop as far as pureblood families went. That was how they had gotten such good intel on this party, and how they had managed to build the perfect plan. After all, take magic away from a blood purist and all that was left was an empty shell of a brat.

Just as Audrey was beginning to grow bored of the monotonous twirling, the music started to die down and Axel took the stage that had been set up just by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the ballroom. Audrey politely dismissed herself and made her way to the back of the crowd, stopping just a few feet away from Keegan. Both stared straight ahead, their gazes focused on Axel.

"Good evening, my dear friends," Axel started. He was a rather young man with messy dirty blonde hair and a forest green mask covering his eyes. "I've been rather enjoying taking guesses at all of your identities, although I fear I don't know you all that well."

The room filled with polite laughter and Audrey held back a scowl. _Not even that bloody funny_ , she thought to herself bitterly. She subtly slipped a hand into the hidden pocket of her hoop dress.

"Tonight, we celebrate our victories!" Axel said enthusiastically, raising his champagne flute high in the air.

As everyone in the room did the same, Audrey simply nodded once - all the signal that Keegan needed. With a sudden wave of his hands, the room was enveloped in complete darkness. At the same time, Audrey threw up the contraption hidden in her pocket: a levitating rock that would attract all of the wands in the room like a magnet as it floated high above the crowds. The major risk in this mission was that Audrey and Keegan had to leave their wands behind for this to work. Thankfully, the combination of Keegan's wandless magic, Audrey's relatively good fighting skills (as far as purebloods went, anyways), and Kingsley's inventive magical gadgets, that risk ended up being just slightly less major.

As soon as the rock was up in the air, Audrey and Keegan were on the move, pushing through the crowds with ease thanks to the Night Vision Potion. She felt a hand grab at her shoulder and quickly spun around to place a well-aimed punch at the man's throat. He stumbled back, gasping for air, and Audrey simply turned back around and kept walking. She could see people pulling their masks off and squinting in the dark and Audrey quickened her pace. This part of the mission was time-sensitive.

Audrey easily climbed up on the stage and didn't even hesitate to throw a powerful right hook at Axel's jaw, causing him to fall to the floor. Keegan was quickly by her side to _stupefy_ him into unconsciousness. Wordlessly, they each picked him up by an arm. With another wave of his hand, the large windows behind the stage shattered, causing the room to fill with screams.

 _Another perfect mission_ , Audrey thought to herself proudly as her and Keegan made their way out of the mansion and apparated away.

* * *

"Axel is locked away and well-guarded, so you two can go change before heading into interrogation," Kingsley informed.

"Ugh, thank Merlin, this dress is killing me," Audrey grumbled.

"I won't lie," Kingsley started, a sly smile appearing on his face, "it does feel kind of good to have one of their own. Just a little."

"Ah, there's the hidden Slytherin!" Keegan exclaimed as he gave his uncle a strong pat on the back. "I knew there was a little of that pure Shacklebolt cunning within you, Kingsley."

Kingsley rolled his eyes but the smile stayed on his face. "All right, off with you two," he said with a hint of exasperation.

As Keegan turned to head to his room at the Order headquarters house, Audrey quickly fell in step with him, a determined look set on her face.

"So are we gonna talk?" she asked, breaking the silence between them.

Keegan stopped walking with an annoyed sigh and turned to look at Audrey. The halls of the headquarters house were practically deserted at this hour, and it only made Audrey more conscious of each silent beat between her and her brother, and the glare he was sending her way.

"About?" he demanded, crossing his arms.

"You know what, Keegan," Audrey replied, also crossing her arms as she returned his glare and moved to stand in front of him. "You jeopardized the mission."

"Yeah, sorry," he replied with a shrug.

" _Sorry_?" Audrey repeated. "Listen carefully: we only have each other, all right? Mum and Dad are trapped under Kelsey's watchful eyes, and Kingsley has his own family to worry about. We can't be lying to each other, Keegan!"

Keegan looked down, tearing his gaze away from Audrey's disappointed frown. While, yes, the mission had gone well and it didn't take a genius to figure out _why_ Keegan had put them at risk, Audrey was still rather chapped that he wouldn't have told her. What did he think she would do - hate him for having his own life? Frankly, she shouldn't have been all that surprised: their family had always kept in touch with the Greengrasses, even if it was more of a formality than actual friendship.

"It was that stupid party Mum threw for me back in July when I finished my Obliviator training," Keegan finally said, his eyes meeting Audrey's once more. He had a small, sad smile on his face and it softened Audrey's glare. "She had always been the annoying kid we'd have to practically babysit every time Mum and Dad had company but... not that time. It just clicked. I didn't mean for it happen."

Audrey smiled up at her brother. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked. "I mean, not telling Mum and Dad - that I get. But me?"

"In case you forgot, shit hit the fan about a month later," Keegan replied sarcastically. "The Greengrasses were publicly recognized Death Eaters and we... are most definitely not. It just seemed better to keep things as secret as possible."

"Right," Audrey said quietly. "Is that why we didn't go after her father?" she asked after a pause. It would have made sense, but she would hate to think that her brother would intervene like that.

Unexpectedly, Keegan laughed. "Trust me, I would love nothing more than to torture that man to hell," he replied. A solemn look appeared on his face as he quietly added, "He, uh, he hits Daphne and her sister, so I would've enjoyed returning the sentiment. I actually tried to convince Kingsley to target him, but he thought Archibald might be too important and that it would expose us."

"You really care about her, huh?" Audrey asked after a quiet pause.

Keegan smiled lightly and shrugged. "I told you: I didn't mean for it to happen," he replied. "You know I would never do anything to jeopardize any of our missions but..." he trailed off and sighed heavily, "I didn't want her getting caught in the crossfire. It's not her fault her parents are arses."

"I get it. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't," Audrey said, the bitter memory of her first Auror shadowing shift coming to mind in that moment. "We've gotta trust each other, Keegan - from here on out."

Keegan nodded. "I know, you're right," he agreed. "And... listen. You gotta stop blaming yourself for Adrian. It's been over a year."

Audrey decided to stay silent and simply shrugged. She hated getting into that, and she hated even more that her brother knew exactly what as on her mind. The two siblings started walking down the creaking halls of the Order headquarters once again, silence surrounding them. As much as they would get on each others' nerves, Audrey and Keegan had always gotten along well. Their parents had always emphasized how important it was for siblings to stick together, a lesson that had probably been spurred by their own terrible relationships with their siblings. Between Aunt Kelsey's radical and violent views and the Shafiq family's divisive opinions on blood purity, Kristopher and Zhara had always felt alone despite being part of two of the largest families in the wizarding world.

It followed that Keegan keeping secrets from Audrey was hardly commonplace, which was what had hurt her more. If the mission had been jeopardized, well, that could have been handled. But she hated thinking that her brother didn't want to talk to her - especially in these dark times.

"So," Audrey started, breaking the silence once again, "you do realize she's only seventeen, right?"

"She actually turned eighteen last week, thanks very much," Keegan grumbled in reply. "If Gran and Gramps are ten years apart, I hardly think four years is a stretch."

"Four and a half, if you wanna be exact," Audrey teased.

"Don't we have a Death Eater to question or something?" Keegan said quickly, his irritation clearly growing.

"You're right," Audrey agreed, "we'll leave this for when the arses are rotting in Azkaban."

* * *

"This is _preposterous_!"

Percy took a calming breath before raising his head to meet Pius' eyes. The Minister's office looked as if a tornado had passed through it and Pius looked beyond furious. He pounded his fists on the large oak desk, then fell back in his seat with a grunt, crossing his arms. Clearly, whatever information that letter held was not sitting well with him, and it gave Percy a bit of joy to see him so riled up.

"What seems to be the matter, Minister?" Percy asked politely.

Pius took a deep breath before looking up from the letter and meeting Percy's eyes. Percy noticed the briefest glint of green in his eyes - a side effect of being under the Imperius Curse for so long.

"Enemies of the Minsitry seemed to have obtained a... very important person," Pius said carefully.

"That is most unfortunate, Minister," Percy replied. "Who is that we've lost?"

"Axel Greengrass," Pius answered bitterly. "These imbeciles think they can play a Slytherin's game... well, we'll show them."

"Indeed, sir," Percy replied, holding back the victorious smile that was fighting to surface.

He had thought Kingsley mad at first, but perhaps there was a method to madness in some situations.


	3. Memento Mori

**Hey guys! Here's some really young Audrey, just after graduating from Hogwarts. Adrian Pucey has come up a few times in my other Audrey stories, so here's the origins of Audrey's feud with him. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _3\. Memento Mori_

 _1 August 1996_

 _A young Audrey Shacklebolt finds herself in the first high pursuit chase of her Auror career. Seeing the face behind the Death Eater mask, however, cost her more than she could have ever thought._

* * *

Audrey squinted as the sunlight streamed through the blinds in her bedroom and she rolled over to groan into her pillow. Two months into Auror training and she was already extremely exhausted. It was beyond her how she was going to make it through three years, but she supposed it was best to take things one day at a time. For now, today brought some excitement: her first shadowing shift.

Sitting up in her bed, Audrey almost immediately felt a tug at her arm. She smiled lightly as she looked over her shoulder.

"Just a little longer?" Adrian asked with a pout. "It's so early."

"I can't, Adrian," Audrey said with a laugh, standing up from the bed and stretching her arms, "I'm shadowing my first shift today - can't be late or Moody'll have my head."

She turned to meet Adrian's eyes only to find him giving her a joking suggestive look and a wink. Shaking her head, Audrey added, "Seriously, I can't. I'll make it up to you tonight."

Adrian let himself fall back onto the bed with a sigh, "I'll hold you to that, Aud."

Audrey laughed to herself as she started to get ready for her big day. She had been dating Adrian for almost two years now, but Audrey still remembered the displeased look on her father's face when she had told him that they would be moving in together after graduating. It made sense, Audrey reasoned, and was the most cost-effective option. Her father had said he would rather have her living on his money for another decade than move in with Adrian, she had bitten back with some regrettable cheek, and that was that.

Truth be told, her father never really liked Adrian all that much, and Audrey couldn't figure out why. She had made sure that he had done _everything_ possible to impress Kristopher Shacklebolt every time they encountered one another, and it still wasn't enough. Audrey had confronted her father about it once, and all he had said was "it's a gut instinct - a father just knows." It sounded like rubbish on the scale of Divination class with Trelawney.

That being said, now that Audrey was living with Adrian, she had started to realize that there were certain things that just... irked her. Like how he would drop his coat on the floor sometimes, or miss the laundry hamper completely because he insisted on throwing his clothes in from afar. Perhaps Audrey was the one that was a bit too obsessive and clean, so she had tried to turn things down a notch. It wasn't working all that great.

Still, the problem wasn't that he did these things. The problem was that they bothered Audrey _so bloody much_.

"I'm off," Audrey said as she poked her head back into the bedroom.

Adrian stepped out of their bed and walked over to Audrey, leaning forward to give her a kiss. "See you tonight," he said. "Love you."

"Love you too," Audrey replied, her voice a bit strained. She doubted Adrian had time to notice, though, as she wasted no time apparating away.

* * *

As Audrey went through the mental list of everything she needed for her patrolling shift, she noticed Tonks approaching her with a smile on her face. They had known each other well enough in passing even before Audrey had started Auror training, but now Tonks was something of a relatable mentor for her - not so elevated and unreachable as the greats, but still wise enough to impart some useful knowledge. Besides, there was no end to the amusement that the former Hufflepuff seemed to procure at every turn.

"Ready?" Tonks asked cheerily.

"As I'll ever be," Audrey replied with a sigh, deciding that she had exhausted her mental list plenty of times to be sure that she had everything she needed.

They made their way out into the corridor where Moody was waiting for them. As soon as he saw them, he started walking down the corridor without a word, assuming that the two women would follow after him. A man of few words, as always.

"We've got a downright shady quadrant of Knockturn Alley today," Moody said gruffly as he sped along. "I need you at your best - even you, Shacklebolt. In these parts, you might find yourself completely alone."

"Got it," Audrey confirmed with a nod.

"Less injuries, less paperwork - just remember that," Tonks advised with a wink.

Moody let out a displeased grunt, leaving Audrey to wonder if that meant he was against paperwork or his subordinate's ideology as she followed him through the busy corridors of the Ministry. They reached the Floos in no time, and Moody quickly led by example, forcefully grabbing a fistful of Floo Powder and slamming it to the ground with a gruff, "Knockturn Alley!" Shrugging, Audrey and Tonks did the same.

Stumbling out of the Floo, Audrey easily spotted Tonks and Moody in the dimly lit, gloomy tavern. With their silver Auror badges, the three of them received an abundance of glares as they made their way out onto the streets of Knockturn Alley.

"Here's the tip we received," Moody informed, handing Audrey a piece of parchment. "I hope you know how to read in your head."

"Actually, I never learned," Audrey replied sarcastically. Moody, by the looks of it, either didn't hear her or didn't care enough to react. Shaking her head in amusement, she looked down at the parchment.

 _Suspected Death Eater gathering at Noggin and Bonce, Thursday at 0800; attendees unknown. - Anonymous_

"Could be a trap," Audrey voiced.

"Well, that's what Aurors are for," Tonks said a bit grimly. She was clearly thinking along the same lines.

"It is our duty to address every tip we receive," Moody started, "from the downright ridiculous to the life-threatening."

He came to a halt right after that, left hand shooting up in the air as a signal to stop. Looking back at the two women, Moody put a finger up to his mouth to indicate to them to stay quiet - more so glaring at Tonks - before quietly turning onto the next street with his head down and the hood of his robes up. Audrey followed after him, and Tonks took up the rear.

They walked for a couple blocks on the darkened cobblestone street until Audrey saw the rickety, wooden sign that read _Noggin and Bonce_. Moody creeped up to a window as he waved to Audrey and Tonks to check out the rear of the building. This time, Tonks took the lead down the dark alley. Audrey had to stifle her laughter as she watched Tonks nearly trip a couple times.

When they reached the back of the building, they came face-to-face with a rusted metal door. Tonks slowly reached forward and turned the knob - unlocked. Shooting Audrey a smile, the Auror quietly opened the door and signalled for Audrey to follow her into the shop.

Noggin and Bonce looked exactly like the kind of shop one would expect to find in Knockturn Alley - dingy, dark, and strangely similar to Snape's apothecary cellar. Rows upon rows of shelves obstructed most of Audrey's view, but she caught sight of the front window that Moody was peering into.

Unfortunately, so did the hooded figures in the far corner of the shop.

As one of the people looked up, Audrey caught a glimpse of the sickeningly familiar Death Eater mask and heard Tonks mutter, "That's our cue."

Tonks jumped out of their hiding spot and didn't hesitate to throw a _stupefy_ at the group. They dispersed quickly, but the spell hit one of them. Audrey quickly followed after her and threw up a Protection Charm just as a Death Eater threw a curse at Tonks. Another Death Eater quickly raced out of the shop as soon as they realized there were now _three_ people throwing spells at them.

"Shacklebolt, get that one!" Moody ordered.

Before the masked Death Eater could think to apparate away, Audrey threw a spell at him to distract him and started to chase after him. She quickly remembered that the best you could do as an Auror sometimes was to keep the target's mind too busy to apparate away, so Audrey threw whatever spell she could muster while sprinting through the grimy streets of Knockturn Alley.

The Death Eater took a sharp turn into an alley and Audrey dashed after him, scared to lose sight of her target. As soon as she turned, she saw the green flash of light shooting towards her and threw up a Protection Charm just in the nick of time. Her heart was racing - she had just deflected a _Killing Curse_. On her first bloody shift. Fear quickly turned into anger after that, wasting no time to unleash the hell of every spell she could muster on the Death Eater. He was a skilled duellist, Audrey had to admit, but ultimately it was a simple shooting spell that caught him off guard.

The spell hit his mask and it flew off as a few sparks came off it. Audrey wound up to throw another spell, but as her eyes landed on the now unmasked Death Eater, she froze.

 _No. It can't be._

Adrian's green eyes met her dark brown ones. His expression seemed neutral, if not bored, Audrey thought - but then again, it turned out she didn't know him that well at all.

 _Get it together, Audrey. It... must be a trick_ _._

But before Audrey could think to do anything else, he apparated away with a pop, leaving her standing alone in a grimy alley. She hung her head, looking down at her hands, jaw dropped slightly as if in some kind of shock. She didn't even hear the sound of footsteps until Moody and Tonks were right next to her.

"You lost him," Moody stated, the disappointment in his voice contrasting the sympathetic look on his face. A strange look for the hardened Auror.

"I - I'm sorry," Audrey stumbled.

"Don't sweat it," Tonks replied, patting the younger woman on the back. "Kept up pretty well for your first time."

Audrey nodded, but she could no longer muster up any more words. She heard Moody grumble something about finishing their patrols and her legs mindlessly followed after him, but the rest of the day was a complete blur. Only one thing occupied her mind.

Her boyfriend was a Death Eater - and she had just let him get away.

* * *

It was about eight at night when the door to the apartment finally swung open and Adrian walked in. Audrey had been leaning against the kitchen counter that faced the front door for about two hours at that point, a satchel containing all of Adrian's precious belongings at her feet. As soon as she had gotten home, she had wasted no time heatedly chucking his things into the charmed bag all the while cursing under her breath and fighting back the burning tears at the back of her eyes. Audrey Shacklebolt did not cry.

And certainly not over someone like him.

She wasn't sure what she was more mad about. The fact that he was a Death Eater, the fact that he had lied to her for so long, or the fact that she had let him get away. As she met his green eyes in the darkened flat and the air between them filled with a tense silence, she realized it was a putrid mixture of all of the above.

Audrey kicked the satchel towards him and looked down. "Here's your things," she stated monotonously. "You have an hour to piss off."

He let out a shaky breath. "Audrey, please, if you would just let me - "

"You tried to _kill_ me!" she shouted.

Ah, there it was. That was the fact that bothered her the most. Yes, Adrian was a Death Eater and, yes, he had apparently lied to her for months; but it was the fact that when he faced his supposed one true love on the other side of a war, the first thing he could think to do was try to kill her.

That was the fact that finally pushed the tears to stream down Audrey's face. She hung her head and looked away from him as she stifled a sob, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"It's - I didn't - " he stumbled, clearly at a loss for words. There was no way to justify _that_. "I didn't want you involved in this, Audrey - that's why I kept it from you," he finally said.

"Oh, well, that's kind," Audrey snapped sarcastically, meeting his eyes once again with a glare. He flinched as he saw the pain in her eyes. "I'm training to be an _Auror_ , and you're here running amuck spreading all of that purist propaganda."

"It's not propaganda," he argued.

Audrey scoffed. "That's rich."

"You should know better," he started, his voice rising. "You're _actually_ a pureblood - you owe it to yourself to preserve that!"

"I - wow," Audrey simply cut herself off, refusing to even justify his statement with a reply. She couldn't believe her ears. Did she even know him at all? Was he being Imperiused? She secretly hoped that was the truth, but part of her just looked at him and... _knew_. "When I said you have an hour, I meant it," she finally said, her glare strong enough to cut diamonds at that point. "In an hour, I'm alerting the Auror Office that I found a Death Eater mask among your things and that you were gone when I got home. You can be gone, or you can be here so they can arrest you and this will be over much faster."

Silence filled the apartment again as Adrian stared back at Audrey. She could see the confusion in his eyes, but her gaze didn't falter. Finally, he quietly said, "Thank you."

"You don't deserve it," she replied bitterly.

Adrian nodded and reached down to pick up the satchel. "You know, your aunt always said you'd be the best addition to the cause - if you ever changed your mind," he stated matter-of-factly.

That was the last straw. " _Get. Out_ ," Audrey seethed, her grip on her wand tightening, "before I change my mind, Pucey. Next time I see you, I won't hesitate."

* * *

Percy's day was over. He had clocked out - at half past nine at night, no less - and that was that. His work was all done, neatly piled up on his desk. He had sent his encrypted note to Kingsley from the office of some poor, unsuspecting intern. Everything was checked off, which meant that there was only one thing left to do: go break things off with Penny.

"Weasley!"

Percy's head snapped up just as he closed the door to his office. He found himself face to face with Rufus Scrimegour and immediately felt himself straightening up a bit. "Yes, sir?" he answered.

"I need you to scribe a witness testimony for me," he ordered, "that will be all right with you, I presume?"

"Yes, of course, I have plenty of time," Percy quickly replied.

 _Idiot. You can only avoid her for so long._

His relationship with Penny ending had been a long time coming. She was pretty, she was smart, she was kind, and they had tons of things in common. Percy couldn't claim to be unhappy; however, he could claim that they were horrible for each other. This thought had first crossed his mind in their seventh year, when Percy first realized that, sexually, their minds were in two completely different worlds - but he had quickly banished the thought from his head. How could he be so shallow as to judge her on that?

Then, they had graduated, and things had gotten significantly worse. After Percy had thrown the final blow that severed practically all ties with his family, he had been devastated. Penny didn't know _why_ he had done such a thing, of course, so he assumed she would be the first to inquire into why on earth he was suddenly giving his big, loving family the cold shoulder. Instead, she had shrugged and said something about doing whatever he needed to do.

No questions. No comforting embrace. No "Percy Weasley, have you gone mad?" Nothing. He may as well not even have existed.

And then, of course, the cherry on top: Percy was sick and tired of _lying_ to her. He couldn't bear it. Until now, he had justified it as all being for the sake of the Order, for the sake of a better world - but it was simply too much. Every time he told her he was just "working late" when he was really spying on someone or other for Kingsley it chipped away at his soul a little bit.

They had been together for four years now, though, and the idea of breaking up with Penny was daunting. So if the Minister needed help, he would provide it - especially if it kept him busy.

"What do I need to know about the case?" Percy asked as he fell in step with Rufus and breezed his way through the Ministry corridors.

"Nothing," Rufus replied. "She is a protected witness, you will be exposed to the bare minimum. Keep up as best as you can."

"All right then," Percy said with a nod as he pulled out his notepad and quill from his bag.

Rufus came to an abrupt stop in front of an interrogation room, Percy just behind him. After a small moment of hesitation, the Minister opened the door and strode into the room and Percy followed, stopping right by the door. He waved his wand to Charm his quill to scribe the conversation and his notepad to levitate then looked over at the table where the Minister had just sat down.

On the other side of the table, opposite the Minister, sat a young woman. Her head was hanging, eyes focused on the table, and her hand was gripping the table's edge until her knuckles turned white. She had dark, umber skin and nearly pitch black hair that was straightened out and pulled back in a tight ponytail. As she slowly looked up and met the Minister's gaze, Percy realized he recognized her - from where, he couldn't quite place. Still, that wasn't his job here, so he set his sights on the notepad to make sure his spell was working.

"My name is Rufus Scrimegour, Auror and Minister of Magic. It is thirty-eight minutes past oh-nine-hundred as I begin my questioning of protected witness number three-six-four-eight concerning the case number seven thousand sixty-two," Rufus started monotonously. "The witness claims that she, upon arriving home to the flat she shared with her boyfriend, Adrian Gregory Pucey, discovered that said boyfriend had disappeared and only left a mask associated with the Death Eater cause in his former wardrobe. Is this correct, Miss?"

A pause filled the room. Percy frowned and looked over at the woman. Her expression was completely unreadable. "Yes, sir," she replied quietly, sitting up a bit and raising her chin.

"Do you know to where Mister Pucey has fled?"

"No."

"Have you ever seen a Dark Mark anywhere on his body?"

"No - but any idiot can perform a Glamour Charm."

"A 'no' would've sufficed," Rufus pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have any concrete evidence that Mister Pucey was involved in activities associated with pureblood supremacy and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

The woman paused. No, _hesitated_. After a couple years of spying for Dumbledore and the Order, Percy could discern the difference quite well. He watched the woman intently, but her gaze was fixated on Rufus as she finally said, "No, sir."

"You can see how this puts us in a difficult position, Miss," Rufus stated. "We will subpoena him to appear in the Wizengamot. If he fails to comply, he will be breaching a magical law and will thus be placed on our wanted list. Until then, there is nothing else we can do."

"Sounds about right," the woman muttered darkly.

Then, she simply stood up and headed for the door. Her hand was reaching for the doorknob when Rufus bellowed, "I did not dismiss you!"

Percy watched as the woman looked back at him, her expression a mix of annoyance and exhaustion. "I'm dismissing myself," she shot back, then swung opened the door and sped out of the room without another look.

"Uh, would you like me to, um, amend that somehow, or - "

"Weasley," Rufus started, letting out an exhausted sigh, "cease your rambling and _go after her_ , for Merlin's sake."

"Yessir!"

Percy quickly left behind his notepad and quill and sped out of the room. He scanned the hallway as the door closed behind him until his eyes landed on a small group of people just down the hall to the left. He recognized the woman almost immediately. Percy raised his chin slightly as he started to head towards the group but stopped in his tracks when one of the people looked up and met his eyes.

Kingsley.

The Auror simply looked at Percy, a pleading look in his eyes, and subtly drew his fingers across his neck. The message was clear: if you can help it, stay out of it. For a moment, Percy's eyes flitted towards the woman and the other three people, then he looked back at Kingsley and simply nodded. Percy turned around and slowly made his way back to the interrogation room, his mind racing with questions.

Rufus was staring right at him as soon as he re-entered the room.

"I couldn't find her," Percy explained.

Surprisingly, Rufus only sighed and shrugged. "That's all right - I know she's telling the truth," he said simply. "That family only had one bad seed."

 _That family_. Percy's curiosity only broadened; however, he had an inkling that Kingsley wouldn't be quite so eager to share.

* * *

Racing out of the room, Audrey frantically scanned the hallway, unsure of what to do next. Sassing the Minister wasn't exactly grounds for imprisonment, but she was sure that sort of thing wouldn't be tolerated.

Her frantic behaviour ceased, however, when she met her father's gaze down the hallway. Her mother, Keegan, and Uncle Kingsley stood by him.

Audrey slowly approached him, keeping her eyes on his. She stayed silent, hoping he would say something first. _Anything_. She didn't trust herself not to burst into tears in that moment. Yet again.

Her father's words surprised her.

"I'm so sorry, Audrey," Kristopher said quietly.

Audrey's eyes widened in surprise as she stared back at her father and, for a moment, she didn't know what to do with herself. Then, almost as if without any control, she flung herself forward and tightly embraced her father. He didn't hesitate to hug her back, and in the next moment, her mother and brother were also tightly hugging her. She felt Kingsley's hand gently squeeze her shoulder.

"How could I not have known?" Audrey breathed out, a light sob escaping her. "An Auror unwittingly dates a Death Eater - unbelievable."

"You weren't an Auror when your relationship started and you still aren't," Zhara reminded, "you are only human, my love."

"I can't believe I let him get away," Audrey said quietly, "I can't believe I _lied_ about it."

"It's better this way," Kingsley advised. She met his eyes and could see that he was being genuine, sympathetic. There was no judgement in her uncle's gaze. "Let's get out of here and get your mind off of this mess," he suggested. "Astrid was thinking of making _hamburgers_ tonight - American style."

Audrey forced a smile. "I could use a distraction," she admitted.

"We'll even play crib," Keegan suggested, squeezing her a little tighter.

"Sympathy I'll accept, but pity I will not," Audrey said pointedly as her family finally let go of her.

"Trust me, I'll give it all I got," Keegan promised, " _you_ might need to show _me_ a little pity after you double skunk me."

Audrey smiled - genuinely for the first time since the morning - and linked her arm with her brother. "I could be convinced to show a little pity - for the right price," she said with a shrug.

"There's the daughter I raised," Zhara noted with a laugh.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As always, reviews are extremely appreciated and welcome :) - C**


	4. The Glass Snake

**Hello all! I'm back with another one-shot for this collection :) This one is picking up at the end of the first chapter, where we see Audrey, Sabina, and Keegan dealing with Audrey's injury.**

* * *

 _4\. The Glass Snake_

 _8 March 1998_

 _Following Audrey and Keegan's narrow escape from the Ministry, they must now deal with the bigger problem: the Curse that Kelsey unleashed unto Audrey. Meanwhile, Kingsley pays Percy a visit._

* * *

The only thing that Audrey could imagine hurt more than what she was feeling in that moment was the Cruciatus Curse.

As soon as the portkey delivered her and Keegan back to the Order's headquarters, Audrey felt her body go limp in her brother's arms as she let out a horrible scream of pain that she had been holding back. Within seconds, Kingsley had rushed into the room, the panic as clear on his face as the pain was on hers.

"Dion?" Kingsley asked as he helped get Audrey to lie down in a cot.

Out of the corner of her eye, Audrey could see Keegan shake his head sadly.

Slowly lowering Audrey onto the cot, Kingsley asked, "Knight?"

"We got him," Keegan replied. "He's at the safehouse."

"Good, good," Kingsley said quietly. He looked over Audrey with a pained look before tearing open the Death Eater robes to reveal her wound. The blood was covering her whole leg by now, and the shards of glass sticking out of the wound seemed to be coming out of nowhere. "How did this happen?" he asked, looking back at Keegan.

"Kelsey, of course," Keegan answered bitterly.

A flicker of anger dashed across Kingsley's face, but he quickly stifled it. "All right, keep an eye on her," he instructed, "I'll go get Sabina."

As Kingsley left the room, Keegan knelt down to be eye level with Audrey and tightly squeezed her hand. She tried to force a smile as she looked back at him, but it ended up being more of a pained wince as another burning ache seared through her leg. It felt like it was starting to hurt even in her foot and hip now.

"Hey, you'll be fine," Keegan reassured quietly. "Doesn't even look that bad."

Audrey snorted. "I'm in pain, not stupid," she shot back, a small smirk making its way onto her face as Keegan chuckled lightly.

In the next moment, Sabina barged into the room, medical kit strapped to her side and a look of worry etched on her face. Kingsley was right on her heels but stopped by the door, a deep frown set on his face. Keegan quickly moved out of the way of the petite blonde woman as she headed straight for Audrey, not wasting a second to open up her medical kit and pull out potions. Sabina may have only been a Healer-in-training, but Audrey could not trust anyone more than she trusted her childhood friend in that moment.

"Blood Replenishing Potion, for the obvious," Sabina said, handing Audrey a small vial of red potion. She downed it as best she could lying down. Then, Sabina handed her another vial, "and Milk of the Poppy, for the pain."

Audrey knocked back the second potion and relaxed a bit. She felt a drowsiness and numbing sensation set in, followed by a feeling of relief that at least she could manage the pain until they figured out how the get rid of this curse. It happened as soon as Audrey was the most relaxed she had been in days.

Audrey tensed up and let out a horrible scream of pain. She could feel tears start streaming down her face as her leg burned up. Glancing at Sabina, Audrey found her blue eyes wide in surprise and almost horror.

"But... Milk of the Poppy... it's - it's _Milk of the Poppy_ , it _has_ to work - I - " Sabina stumbled as her eyes fixed on Audrey's wound, her gaze trancelike.

"So give me more," Audrey managed to croak out.

"I - I can't," Sabina replied quietly, meeting Audrey's eyes. "I gave you the _maximum_ dose. You could die if I give you more. It's like... the curse doesn't react to the opium..."

"Try _ferula_ ," Kingsley suggested from behind Sabina.

With a nod, the blonde woman swished her wand and a light blue wave of light oozed out of her wand and covered Audrey's wound. Then, in the next second it simply dissipated and Audrey felt another surge of pain course through her leg. She could feel the sting in the lower part of her abdomen now.

"Unbelievable..." Sabina muttered. "What on earth did that madwoman do to you?"

"There's something else," Audrey heard Keegan say quietly as he turned to face Kingsley. "She knew we were coming," he whispered.

"What?" Kingsley breathed out, the shock evident on his face.

Keegan looked down and shook his head. "She said something about using Dion to force you into sending me and Audrey," he explained in a whisper. "Said she had to be sure it was us, though - she sent _Adrian_ after Audrey and _Archibald Greengrass_ after me."

Kingsley sighed heavily as he reached his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I swear, sometimes I think she's worse than You-Know-Who," he muttered.

"How could she even have known that about me?" Keegan hissed. "Only you and Audrey know about _her_ \- it's practically impossible."

"Nothing is impossible when it comes to Kelsey," Kingsley grumbled spitefully.

Keegan scowled at the mention of her name. "I'm not done," he said, his quiet voice turning sad. "She had Anders and Jenny, too."

Kingsley's frown fell and reformed into a look of shock. Anders and Jenny were his parents-in-law. Anders was a Durmstrang graduate and a Healer, while Jenny was an Ilvermorny graduate, like her daughter, and a retired Quidditch player. "Astrid's parents?" he whispered.

"All three of them - Anders, Jenny, Dion - they were restrained in shackles from Azkaban," Keegan continued quietly. He was looking down at his feet, clearly avoiding Kingsley's gaze, which was now filled with heartache and tears. "I think her grand plan, if we hadn't escaped, was to execute them in front of me and Audrey. That's why Knight didn't have a set execution date... _we_ were the execution date."

Audrey heard the pound of a fist on wood - which she could only assume was Kingsley angrily punching the table next to him - quickly followed by the slam of a door. Then, the door creaked once again as Keegan left the room. The eerie silence that followed quickly reminded Audrey of her current predicament and she let out a whimper as another burst of pain spread throughout her leg.

"Okay, okay, you know what - you can't die from pain," Sabina reasoned. "So, this is gonna be horrible, but you're not gonna die."

"Perfect," Audrey seethed with a glare.

"I'm going to try to see what happens if I pull out the glass," Sabina continued, clearly ignoring the searing glare that Audrey was sending her.

Audrey simply nodded and bit down on the small pillow that was on the cot. She saw Sabina pull out a pair of medical tweezers from her kit and closed her eyes after that - better not to look in these circumstances. Audrey felt a small bit of pressure near her ankle as Sabina grasped a piece of glass with the tweezers, followed by the slow release of the pressure as she pulled out the shard. She heard a sigh of relief as soon as the shard was out and relaxed a bit.

Until the next wave of pain hit.

"Ahh - _fuck_!" Audrey exclaimed. "Sab, why _the hell_ does it hurt more?"

"Um, well, it looks like - um - "

"Spit it out, Sab," Audrey seethed, biting back another scream.

Sabina took a deep breath and looked away from Audrey's demanding gaze. "If I pull out a shard, more smaller shards just appear and take its place," she said.

Audrey let out a groan of pain. "So what do we do?" she croaked out as her nails dug into the pillow in her hands.

"Um, okay - we just need to think about this. It's a Curse, so maybe I've been approaching it too literally," Sabina explained. She covered her face with her hands and let out a long sigh. "All right, so, glass - glass is mostly silicon dioxide, which is... which is also sand!"

"Fantastic," Audrey hissed sarcastically, sending a glare towards her friend.

"Maybe there's something that could trigger the glass to turn into sand, and then we could use a simple _tergeo_ to remove the sand," Sabina continued. "If we can't _remove_ the glass, then changing its properties is our only logical option."

"Fine, so how do we do that?" Audrey asked quickly, taking a few deep breaths as another surge of pain hit.

"Well, _logically_ \- "

"Say 'logically' one more time and I'll concuss you, Sab."

"Noted," Sabina muttered. "Heat would be my first instinct - melt the silicon dioxide, cauterize the wound. But... that's too obvious. This is Kelsey we're talking about."

"Good point, she would definitely do the opposite of what anyone expects her to do," Audrey agreed, the bitterness evident in her tone.

By the sparkle in Sabina's eyes, Audrey could tell she had just flicked on a light switch in that Ravenclaw brain of hers. "I have an idea, but... you have to trust me," Sabina said as she met Audrey's eyes.

Audrey nodded and dug her face back into the pillow. "Literally _try anything_ at this point," she said, her voice muffled.

Sabina pulled out her wand and gave it a simple wave. For a brief moment, nothing happened - then, Audrey felt a cool sensation all around her wound. The sensation spread from her foot all the way up to her abdomen. In a matter of seconds, the coolness turned into an almost painful freezing cold - but the stinging pain from the wound was subsiding. Slowly, Audrey lifted her head and looked at the wound. Her jaw dropped as she realized what Sabina was doing.

 _She may be infuriating but, hell, she's a genius_ , Audrey thought to herself. Sabina had frozen the wound with a simple Freezing Spell. Blue light covered Audrey's leg and a thin coat of ice formed over the open wound. She could see the glass slowly disappear as each shard, one by one, dissolved into sand.

"The glass is cursed to act like a parasite," Sabina muttered. Audrey could tell her friend was talking to herself more than actually explaining, but she listened in anyways. "It must feed on the host's blood and energy to form new shards and keep its form. Freezing reduces the blood flow to the point that the glass has nothing. And it's the opposite of heating, so it follows Kelsey logic."

"You're bloody brilliant," Audrey said, relaxing a bit as the cold numbed her leg.

Sabina chuckled lightly as she pocketed her wand. "That should be enough - looks like all of the glass is gone," she observed. "Just got to clean it out now. Still can't do anything about the pain, though."

"That's fine," Audrey replied with a small smile. "Pain won't kill me anyways."

* * *

 _9 March 1998_

* * *

Kingsley's eyes were fixed on Audrey's wounded leg as she slept. It was early in the morning, hardly even five o'clock, but he hadn't been able to sleep with all of the thoughts swimming in his head.

When Astrid had returned from her mission yesterday and Kingsley had told her what Keegan had seen, she had fallen to her knees and started crying almost instantly. His wife was easily one of the strongest people he knew - bright-eyed and fearless in almost any situation, it had been impossible _not_ to fall in love with her when they had worked together in the Auror Office - but in that moment, she had looked just as vulnerable and broken as Audrey did with her wounded leg. Kingsley had held Astrid as she shook with each sob, but he still felt completely powerless. Nothing he would do or say could take away the loss of a parent - that much he knew with certainty.

Between thoughts of Astrid's tear-stained face, Audrey's wounded leg, and his imagination procuring the worst pictures of his father and parents-in-law, sleep had been more of a curse than a blessing for Kingsley. That was how he found himself watching over his niece's sleeping face, at least finding some comfort in seeing her so at peace despite the horrid mission she had just endured.

"She's too resourceful to be killed quite that easily."

Sabina's voice startled Kingsley, but he quickly relaxed as he turned around and recognized the young woman. Returning her smile, he replied, "Kris would always tell her and Keegan that a duel isn't over until their opponent loses."

Sabina shook her head in amusement. "Sounds like Papa Shacklebolt," she said with a laugh. "She's doing fine, in case you were wondering. The leg will need some physical rehabilitation and she'll be in pain for a week or so, but otherwise she's fine."

Kingsley nodded lightly, his gaze returning to Audrey. "I wasn't selfish to send my own niece and nephew, right?" he asked quietly.

"Kingsley, you didn't send them because they're your family," Sabina started, "you sent them because they're the best. _No one_ \- and I mean _no one_ \- would have come out of that better than Audrey and Keegan."

"I'll trust that you wouldn't lie to a fellow Ravenclaw," Kingsley said as he met Sabina's eyes with a small smile.

"I'll trust that, as a fellow Ravenclaw, you could probably tell if I'm lying," Sabina replied smartly.

Kingsley laughed lightly. "Well-played, Sabina," he admired. "Do you mind staying with her? I... have some business I need to attend to."

"Of course," Sabina replied with a smile.

Kingsley left the room with a simple nod and quietly made his way through the old house that was serving as their headquarters - for now, anyways. He made his way out of the house unnoticed and walked a few metres to make sure he was out of range of the Anti-Apparition Wards. Then, with a pop, Kingsley was standing in front a quaint cottage by the Welsh coast.

He wordlessly made his way up the path leading to the house and knocked on the door. It creaked open slowly, but no one was standing in the door way. With a frown on his face and his hand tightening around his wand, Kingsley slowly approached the doorway and stepped into the house. As soon as he was inside, he felt the jab of a wand against his back and heard the door slam shut.

"What did you say to me at Dumbledore's funeral?" Percy's voice asked.

"That trusting you as a Ministry spy was both the smartest and most selfish thing the old man had ever done," Kingsley replied easily. "What did you say to me when we got news of Umbridge disappearing into the Forbidden Forest?"

"That even acromantulas didn't deserve to deal with that madwoman," Percy answered.

Kingsley felt the pressure on his back disappear and he turned around to face Percy with a smile. The younger man smiled back and stepped forward to embrace Kingsley.

"I'm glad to see you're well," Kingsley stated as they stepped back.

"Well, you put me in good hands," Percy replied, referring to the two Order spies that were sent to extract him. There was a small part of him that hoped that Kingsley would slip up and mention and name, but for the most part Percy knew he was far too smart for that.

"I sent the best," he said.

"Is the woman okay?" Percy inquired, a look of worry appearing on his face. "I think her codename was Viper." He _knew_ , actually. Percy wasn't the sort to forget details.

Kingsley looked away, his features contorting into a look of pain at her mention. _Strange_ , Percy thought, _perhaps he has a personal connection._ "She - she is, yes," Kingsley replied. "It took a while to figure out how to break the Curse but we have the best for that, too."

"Good, good," Percy said with a nod. "She, uh, definitely saved my arse a couple of times."

"I was told you also did a good job of keeping those two alive," Kingsley remarked with a knowing smile.

Percy shrugged modestly. "So I assume you know about Kelsey," he stated.

Kingsley nodded, a look of sadness and pain appearing on his face. "Yes, Ace filled me in on... everything," he replied, trailing off with a sigh.

"I - I didn't actually see her do anything to Dion before we left," Percy said quietly, "he could still be alive."

Kingsley laughed dryly. The action caught Percy off guard, but as he met the Auror's eyes he could tell it was filled with bitterness and suppressed anger. "I grew up with her, Percy," Kingsley said spitefully, "our father is long gone."

Percy looked down at his feet. It hadn't been real until Kingsley had said it: Kelsey Rowle killed _her own father_. And for what reason? For being a blood traitor. For fighting against You-Know-Who. It was absolutely disgusting.

"Anyways, Ace also told me you may as well have saved Viper's life," Kingsley continued. Percy looked up again and saw a glint of kindness and gratitude in Kingsley's eyes. "Thank you for that. I made a similar promise to her mother as I made to Molly."

"And what would that be?" Percy asked, his breath hitching a bit at the mention of his mother. He realized in that moment how much he missed her.

"That I would watch over her children with my life," Kingsley replied matter-of-factly.

Percy smiled sadly. "Mum doesn't know that included me," he muttered.

"No, but I do, Percy," Kingsley said. He stepped forward and placed his hands on Percy's shoulders, forcing the younger man to meet his eyes. "A lot of people have you to thank for being alive. You are brave and daring, Percy - a Gryffindor and a Weasley, through and through. Your time will come."

Percy nodded slowly as he quietly replied, "I know."

* * *

 **There's the origins of the first time Audrey dealt with Kelsey's Curse! The second time is recounted in _By Moonlight and Sunrises_ :) Until next time! - C**


	5. Loyal Listeners

**Author's Note: Hello again! I am back with some more wartime Audrey... but this is actually gonna focus more on Sabina and (surprisingly) our favourite redheaded Order spy :)**

 **If you want more Sabina after this, go ahead and read my three-part story _Forbidden Fruit_ :)**

* * *

 _5\. Loyal Listeners_

 _22 December 1997_

 _Sabina handles an unexpected visitor while Kingsley is away and the rest of the group is taking some much needed time off._

* * *

Sometimes, Kingsley would place his trust in the hands of the young souls of the Order of the Phoenix. If 'sometimes' actually meant extremely rarely to the point that it almost never happened, of course.

Still, _almost_ was a very powerful world in these types of circumstances, so this was how a ragtag group of troublemakers and cynics found themselves cooped up in the Order's current headquarters without any Kingsley-esque supervision whatsoever. It was truly a sight to behold. Fred, George, and Lee had instantly jumped up and gotten the radio running - "time for some uncensored fun!" had been George's proclamation. Needless to say, he had been slightly bitter about Kingsley's obligatory suggestions concerning Potterwatch lately. Audrey and Keegan would be posing as special guests - under their codenames, of course - although that was turning out to just be an excuse to talk Quidditch on the air.

And at the end of the day, that left Sabina - the lone Ravenclaw always assuming responsibility.

The Healer-in-training supposed she couldn't be too bitter about these things - there was, after all, a reason that she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, and a huge part of that had been because of her pragmatic intelligence. It was not, however, a desired quality for a special guest on Potterwatch.

That was how Sabina found herself, instead, sitting just outside of the 'recording studio' (it was just a dingy old storage closet) reading a book. The door was slightly open, so Sabina could hear and see the theatrics of the infamous Weasley twins all too well.

Setting her book down with an exasperated sigh, Sabina quietly strolled into their small studio and leaned against the wall just next to the doorway. Fred and George perked up at her arrival, wicked smirks on their faces. In Sabina's seven years of experience with them at Hogwarts, nothing good ever followed those looks.

"Ah, so you've decided to ditch the boring tomes for our beautiful faces!" Fred exclaimed. "Wise choice, Athena."

Yes, the twins had forcibly nicknamed her Athena for the sake of everyone having an Order nickname and feeling special. Sabina was not fond of it and, frankly, it wasn't their best work.

"Unfortunately, you're too much of a killjoy to grace the air of Potterwatch," George declared with feigned disappointment.

"Oi, don't speak to the lady like that!" Fred shouted as he playfully smacked his brother. "Hardly matters when she's nice to stare at."

"Well, if we aired on teleporters, that would be a whole 'nother story."

"Teleporters? Don't you mean televisions?" Sabina corrected, crossing her arms as she gave the twins a skeptical look.

The looks on the twins' faces indicated that she had just thrown the worst of insults. "How dare you question our knowledge of obscure Muggle artefacts?" George demanded.

"Televisions are actually very commonplace and accessible."

George raised a hand to his forehead, as if fainting, and fell back in his seat. Fred gestured at him wildly and shouted, "See what you did, woman?"

"You really have a way of riling them up, Sab," Audrey noted from her seat next to George. Sabina turned to her friend and could clearly see the laugh she was holding back.

Her and Audrey had known each other since first year. Their friendship had had the most stereotypical start: shared a compartment on the train, bonded over the fact that they liked the same candy but different flavours, then vowed to be best friends by the time they reached the boats. It had hardly mattered then that Sabina was a Ravenclaw and Audrey a Slytherin, and since then not much had changed. They were still both obsessed with sugar quills - Sabina preferred the strawberry, Audrey the green apple - and it still hardly mattered that they had been in different houses. Of course, in these days, that was not a common sentiment.

"What can I say, I bring out the worst in people," Sabina replied with a shrug. "Listen, just keep it down, all right? At this rate you'll break through the Soundproofing Charms."

"Oh, love - we're good, but not _that_ good," Fred said dismissively.

"Right," Sabina laughed under her breath as she turned around and went back to her seat just outside the studio, closing the door behind her.

Still, as she heard something fall in the room and Audrey shouting profanities, Sabina couldn't help but smile. This was the happiest they had all been in a while, which was saying a lot because all they were doing was shouting nonsense into a radio. Nevertheless, it almost made Sabina forget that she was missing a Christmas with her family.

Again, _almost_ carries a lot of weight in certain circumstances.

Sabina was just settling down with her book once again, her mind a little more at ease than usual, when she heard the the back door in the kitchen creak open. Her ears perking up, Sabina gently set her book down and drew her wand as she approached the kitchen. They weren't expecting anyone back quite so soon, so to say that Sabina was on edge in that moment would have been an understatement. Just as she was approaching the doorway to the kitchen, she could hear some shuffling around. Taking a quick breath, Sabina rounded the corner and wielded her wand.

As her wand pointed at the intruder's face, she instantly came face-to-face with the point of someone else's wand. Her eyes flitted upwards to meet her opponent's eyes and she felt herself freeze in place as she instantly recognized him.

"What the hell?" Sabina breathed out. She didn't lower her wand. It didn't entirely matter how much you recognized someone nowadays.

Percy Weasley was visibly nervous as he held Sabina's gaze, and although she was steadily focused on him, she still noticed the battered woman standing behind him. She looked older, perhaps close to her own mother's age, and like she had just fought for her life.

Eventually, Percy spoke, "You're gonna have to trust me here."

"Prove your identity first and we'll see," Sabina shot back quietly.

"You're Sabina, right? You were a prefect when I was Head Boy," Percy started as he lowered his wand.

"Anyone could know that," she stated.

Percy sighed heavily. "I'm gonna hate this," he muttered under his breath. "Third floor corridor, classroom door with a necktie on it, you were on rounds and went to investigate," he said, "I was in there with someone else in a rather, erm, private predicament."

Sabina held back a smirk. This was definitely Percy Weasley - no one else knew about that unfortunate walk-in accident. If she could have obliviated herself, Sabina also would not have preferred to know about it. "What house was the necktie from?" she asked. Just to be sure.

"Ravenclaw," Percy replied, his tone clearly indicating his discomfort.

Satisfied with his answer, Sabina lowered and pocketed her wand. "I didn't know you were involved with, um..." she trailed off, "the Order, I guess."

"Yeah, that is kind of the point," he said with a shrug.

There was a short, tense moment of silence as they fixed each other with skeptical stares. Sabina ever so vaguely remembered Percy from Hogwarts. The extent of their relationship had been what he had just described - prefect and Head Boy. He had never been exceptionally nice or rude to her. In fact, Sabina had had more of a vendetta against his girlfriend, Penny Clearwater, who had been one of her housemates. _That_ was a whole other story filled with pettiness and teenage drama, though.

"Sabina?" a voice from the radio room called. Sabina instantly recognized it as belonging to Audrey.

"I'm fine, just grabbing some tea!" Sabina shouted back. She turned her gaze back to Percy and quietly said, "Be quick about this."

"Right, I need a favour," he started in a hushed tone. Gesturing to the woman behind him he said, "This is Belinda Pearce - mum of one of my best mates, Muggle-born. He asked and... I owed him this much, but no one can know I was here so - "

"She made her way here on her own, as per the guidance of some unknown Order members - never got their names," Sabina finished.

Percy nodded slowly. "Exactly," he agreed. "Can I trust you with this - please?"

"On one condition," Sabina said.

The exasperation on Percy's face was all too clear, but he nodded anyways. Sabina walked over to one of the counters in the kitchen and pulled open a drawer, then grabbed an envelope from it. She handed it to Percy, who slowly took it from her and looked it over.

"Isn't Borislav Kopitar the Puddlemere coach?" he asked as he met Sabina's eyes with a frown. "What on earth do you need from him?"

"He's _also_ my father," she said pointedly. Percy's frown quickly fell and was replaced by a look of embarrassment. "It's just a Christmas letter for my family and a Joscelind Waddock figurine for my little brother. All I need is for you to make sure this makes it to them unopened."

"Puddlemere fans through and through, eh?" Percy asked with a small smile. Nodding, he added, "I can do that. I know... I know how important family is this time of year."

"Oi, Sab - be a dear and bring us some tea, too!"

Fred's voice that time. She could see the smile instantly fall off of Percy's face and get replaced by a pained look of longing.

"With any luck, we'll see them soon," she said to Percy quietly, "now get going. You know it's the right thing to do."

Percy nodded and forced a smile on his face before turning to take his leave from the house without another word. As the door shut behind him, Sabina heard footsteps and quickly turned around just as Audrey rounded the corner. The former Auror trainee already had her wand drawn and her eyes fixed on the woman behind her.

"Who is this?" Audrey asked in a cold voice.

Belinda looked at Sabina with a panicked look on her face, but the former Ravenclaw already had a plan. "Old friend of Mum's - Belinda. Already made sure it was her," Sabina answered easily. Audrey lowered her eyes with a skeptical glance towards Sabina. "She's a Muggle-born and kind of just got guided this way by some Order members. Unplanned rescue, I think."

Audrey nodded slowly and smiled lightly at Sabina. "I'll handle the tea then," she said decisively, "looks like Belinda could use a Healer."

Sabina grinned back at her friend and wasted no time to move toward the older woman, placing a reassuring hand on her back as she guided her out of the kitchen and to the bedroom that they had designed as a temporary infirmary. Sabina helped Belinda sit down on one of the cots and started to examine her. It was all mostly cuts and bruises, but she could tell the woman was very weak. Possibly due to malnourishment, possibly torture. More likely both.

Pulling out a medical kit and organizing her tools, Sabina glanced at the woman as she said, "You're lucky to have a son who's still watching out for you these days."

"I know, he's always been a bit of a Mama's boy," Belinda replied jokingly, "although I suppose I only have myself to blame for that."

Sabina laughed lightly as she started to clean some of Belinda's scars. "Not the worst thing in the world," she said.

Belinda nodded lightly, wincing a bit as Sabina pressed on a scar along her forearm. "He plays for Puddlemere, funnily enough," she commented, "Reserve, for now. Well, I guess _played_ is more accurate, what with - well, you know."

"Aye," Sabina agreed with a nod. After a short pause, she added, "Well, if he's survived my dad, You-Know-Who will be a walk in the park."

Belinda gave her a smile as she replied, "I'm sure all daughters think that of their fathers at some point."

Sabina nodded with a knowing look on her face. As much as she loved her father, they butted heads just like the typical strict dad and rebellious daughter. Still, in that moment, she would rather be arguing with her _Ocka_ than wondering if he was even alive.

"Sab?" Audrey's voice called out. As Sabina looked up, she noticed her friend enter the room and take a seat next to her, tea in hand. She turned to Belinda and asked, "How're you holding up?"

"Certainly better now," Belinda answered as she glanced over at Sabina.

"So, which Order member was it again that brought you here?" Audrey asked curiously.

 _Of course, leave it to Audrey Shacklebolt to nose around_ , Sabina thought to herself as she fixed her friend with a glare.

"I came alone - didn't catch a name from who helped me," Belinda replied easily. Sabina had to stifle the surprise on her face at just how easily the older woman lied.

"Interesting," Audrey vocalized, now turning to Sabina, "because there's two sets of wet footprints in the kitchen."

"I went outside for a bit to make sure she wasn't being followed," Sabina answered. _Merlin, I am on a roll today_ , she thought to herself, _although I should actually do that..._

"Your feet aren't that big."

"Woman, you're going mad."

Audrey let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes, seeming to come to terms with the fact that Sabina was not going to slip up. "Fine - don't tell me," she said with a shrug, standing up from her seat, "I'll figure it out."

"Right, sure you will," Sabina muttered under her breath.

* * *

It was just starting to snow again when the door Percy had knocked on swung open. Oliver stood in the doorway, his wand pointed right at Percy as the redhead did the exact same.

"You have a ridiculous habit of sleeping with your sheets tucked in like a bloody straitjacket," Oliver stated plainly.

"It's good for posture!" Percy shot back defensively.

Oliver laughed and stepped aside as he lowered his wand, letting Percy enter the small house. It was a quaint house and filled with all sorts of family memorabilia. His coach's house. A peculiar place to be hiding out for the duration of a war, but Oliver just so happened to be at a Puddlemere practice the day that the stadium got attacked by Death Eaters. Coach Boris and his wife had managed to get Oliver and a muggleborn player out of the stadium safely, and since then they had been communicating with the Order from there.

"How is she?" Oliver asked urgently.

"Fine, she's in good hands," Percy replied. "Got her there myself."

Oliver nodded and let out a sigh of relief. "Mate, I can't thank you enough," he said as he met Percy's eyes. "I.. I don't know what I'd dae if anything happened to Maw."

Percy nodded lightly. "I know what you mean."

In the next moment, the sound of rapid footsteps were heard upstairs, followed by two people barrelling down the stairs towards the front door. The first one was Borislav Kopitar, the Puddlemere coach, and the second was Danica Horvat, the famous Broom-maker and Boris' wife. And, as Percy had just recently discovered, Sabina's parents.

Percy pulled out the envelope in his coat pocket that moment and handed it to Boris. "Erm, from your daughter," he explained.

Danica reached over her husband in less than a second and grabbed the envelope from Percy's hands, not even hesitating to tear it open and read the letter. A wide grin slowly spread across her face as her eyes travelled down the page.

"Well, don't hog the damn thing," Boris grumbled.

"Oh, she's safe and well," Danica replied, still smiling as she gently slapped Boris' hand away as he tried to grab the letter. "And there's a gift inside for Dimitrij," she added, holding up the figurine.

"Joscelind Waddock - a classic," Oliver commented with a small smile.


End file.
